JOY: THE SOUNDTRACK OF CHRISTMAS
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” (Luke 1:46–55)
I wonder if you have a soundtrack for this time of year?
For me, it's “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” on high rotation. I can’t go past the desperate longing-tinged cry of “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.”
For others it’s Mariah or Michael Bublé—or Sufjan Stevens, if you were cooler than me in your 20s.
Our soundtrack for this time of year is often set by tradition or the consumerist calendar that dictates the playlist in shopping malls and grocery stores. But depending on the year you’ve had, the sugary schmaltz of it all can feel discordant. The tinsel-draped soundscape may not fit the grief, pain, uncertainty, disappointment, frustration or exhaustion of the situation you find yourself in – let alone the brokenness and pain of the wider world.
This discordance and lack of fit resonates with Mary’s situation in the opening chapters of Luke.
Mary has been met by an angel bearing a life-up-ending message. She’s unexpectedly pregnant. She’s facing social stigma and uncertainty about whether her betrothal will survive.
Her whole life has been wrenched onto a dramatic new trajectory. And yet Mary is full of joy.
Mysteriously, defiantly, this joy bursts forth in a song of praise as she stands on her cousin Elizabeth’s doorstep.
Such joy doesn’t seem to make sense in her circumstances. Considering her situation in human terms, her joy doesn’t arise naturally and spontaneously. It arises only from the unilateral action and gift of God. It flows from his mindfulness of her “humble state” as she puts it (verse 48), from the honour he bestows by doing something truly great for her (verse 49), and from his gracious intervention in the history of his people, fulfilling his promises to them and their ancestors—from Abraham on.
Could the same defiant joy fill your heart this season, anchored in the faithful and decisive action of God in sending Jesus?
And could it burst forth in songs of far more substance than those that reverberate in elevators and shopping malls?
Written by Chris Swann
CTCA Director of Church Planting